(Update) BOJ Decides to Slow Down JGB Purchase Cuts

   Tokyo, June 17 (Jiji Press)--The Bank of Japan on Tuesday decided to slow down the pace of reducing its outright purchases of Japanese government bonds from next April, while maintaining its interest rate target.
   At its two-day monetary policy meeting from Monday, the nine-member Policy Board conducted an interim assessment of its JGB purchase reduction plans, which had been decided at a policy meeting last July.
   Currently, the central bank reduces its monthly JGB purchases by about 400 billion yen every quarter as part of its monetary policy normalization efforts.
   The pace will be maintained until January-March 2026 but be reduced to 200 billion yen from the next quarter, according to a decision made by an 8-1 vote at the latest meeting.
   Meanwhile, the BOJ unanimously decided to maintain its policy of guiding the unsecured overnight call rate, the benchmark short-term interbank lending rate, to around 0.5 pct.

(2025/06/17-13:45)